Spend It All
A Twitch streamer buys a pool toy company
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In Today’s Issue 💬
Why one streamer bought a pool toy manufacturerÂ
How Shorts revived a creator’s YouTube channel
What Colin and Samir learned from MKBHD’s film studio
Amouranth Invests $7 Million in Pool Toy Company
The Twitch streamer found an investment that floats her boat—or more accurately-–inner tube.Â
Earlier this week Amouranth tweeted her reasons for investing in a pool toy manufacturer, sharing that she expects a 20% return on investment. According to the tweets, the company is a supplier to Amazon and Costco, and does around $15 million in annual revenue.
The move aligns with her brand, as she’s become known for streaming from a hot tub, using floating lights and inner tubes.
Amouranth rose to fame as an ASMR streamer and cosplayer in 2015, but has recently found success as a model and social media influencer, with an OnlyFans that makes up to $1.1 million per month.Â
She is no stranger to investments, with diversified income streams including selling an NFT of herself for $125,000, and buying businesses such as gas stations and 7-Elevens.
Our Take
Most businesses pay to acquire customers. Amouranth flips that model on its head; with a built-in customer base, she just has to find the right business. Acquisition by a creator, like Amouranth’s $7 million investment, is a unique move without much precedent. As more money comes into the pockets of creators, acquisitions like this could become more commonplace.
How Shorts Revived a Legacy YouTube Channel
Long-time comedy YouTuber Ray William Johnson was Tosh.0 before Tosh.0. He started his channel in 2009, with comedy bits and commentaries that resulted in over 10 million subscribers by 2013, and videos in the millions of views.Â
But in the years following, his viewership began to dip significantly. Now, almost a decade later, he’s pivoted exclusively to Shorts content and his channel has been brought back to life.Â
By the Numbers
250,000 → how many views his channel averaged per week after 2013.
50 million → how many views his channel averaged per week after converting to Shorts in 2020.
58% → how much his channel views have increased in just one year, from 2.9 billion in December 2020 to 4.6 billion in January 2022.
Our Take
Being flexible and pivoting to new content formats is key if creators want to sustain their career for the long haul. Shorts offer channels that have struggled the opportunity to find new audiences, in a low-lift and easy to execute way. Â
Sponsored by Jellysmack
What’s a Creator’s Most Precious Resource?
Well for Samir, it’s definitely not his steady hand. Heading into our interview with MKBHD... Samir spilled his coffee all over his jeans.
As creators, our time is our most valuable and only finite resource. The more time we have, the more we can focus on creating.
That’s why creators like MrBeast, PewDiePie, Phil DeFranco and Like Nastya work with Jellysmack.
With offices in 11 countries, a full staff of editors, and proprietary editing software, Jellysmack is working with over 400 creators to edit and distribute their content across platforms like Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram. Jellysmack-powered creators have earned over $150M to date.
Most importantly, Jellysmack frees up our most important resource: our time.
Inside MKBHD’s $1 Million Studio
Colin and Samir’s recent tour of the tech creator’s 7,000-square-foot office space revealed the spending habits of one of YouTube’s top creators.Â
By the Numbers
$350,000 → the approximate amount he spends per year on rent.
$250,000 → the approximate amount he spent on a robot to create intricate and tough to replicate shots for his videos.Â
$1,000,000 → The approximate cost of the studio according to Marques, including rent and equipment.Â
OUR TAKE
As categories like tech get increasingly more competitive, creators will need to invest in order to stand out. Creators that are singular can demand higher ad rates and attract new audiences over long periods of time.Â
🔥 In Other News
Emma Chamberlain’s coffee line expands into hot chocolate.
Spotify closes its namesake podcast studio.
Viacom greenlights six short-form YouTube and Facebook shows.
Former pro gamer Doublelift signs with talent management company Loaded.
Study finds more people want podcasts from YouTubers.
MrBeast is hiring a content strategist.Â
